Excavating and grading machine with adjustable rotary cutting head

ABSTRACT

An improvement in an excavating and grading machine with a power-driven active cutting head which rotates during the process of excavation. More specifically, the improvement relates to the suspension of the rotary cutting head in which the frame of the cutting head comprises a juxtaposition of three member frames. The first member frame of the cutting head rigidly connects to the frame of a self-propelled chassis of the machine. The second member frame is connected to the first frame by an axle pivot arranged coaxially with the longitudinal axis of the frame of the chassis and is capable of turning about this pivot by means of a hydraulic cylinder. The third member frame of the cutting head is connected to the second member frame by an axial pivot arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the chassis frame and is linked up with hydraulic cylinders serving to turn this member frame about the pivot which connects it to the preceeding second member frame. The axles of both pivots are tubular to pass through their bores a power transmission for imparting motion to the rotary cutting head.

Unite States Mironov et al.

atent 1191 14 1 Oct. 15,1974

[76] Inventors: Ivan Antonovich Mironov,

lnstitutskaya ulitsa, l6, kv. 55; Vladislav losii'ovich Nikitin, Institutskaya ulitsa, l0, kv. 11, both of Pushkino Moskovskoi oblasti; Valentin Dmitrievich Kiselev, ulitsa Tsentralnaya, 5, Moskovskaya oblast, poselok Mamontovskaya, all of USSR.

[22] Filed: Mar. 1, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 337,196

3.693.722 9/1972 Brown .1 37/108 X Primary ExaminerClifford D. Crowder Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Holman & Stern [57] ABSTRACT An improvement in an excavating and grading machine with a power-driven active cutting head which rotates during the process of excavation. More specif1- cally, the improvement relates to the suspension of the rotary cutting head in which the frame of the cutting head comprises a juxtaposition of three member frames. The first member frame of the cutting head rigidly connects to the frame of a self-propelled chassis of the machine. The second member frame is connected to the first frame by an axle pivot arranged coaxially with the longitudinal axis of the frame of the chassis and is capable of turning about this pivot by means of a hydraulic cylinder. The third member frame of the cutting head is connected to the second member frame by an axial pivot arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the chassis frame and is linked up with hydraulic cylinders serving to turn this member frame about the pivot which connects it to the preceeding second member frame. The axles of both pivots are tubular 'to pass through their bores a power transmission for imparting motion to the rotary cutting head.

1 Claim, 2 Drawing Figures EXCAVATING AND GRADING MACHINE WITH ADJUSTABLE ROTARY CUTTING HEAD BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION driven cutting head with a rotary motion, with the head 1 being either an endless chain or a rotary hoe. Principally, the present invention relates to excavating and grading machines which build hillside terraces, flat or sloping.

PRIOR ART At present, the most widely used equipment for building the terraces is a bulldozer with the blade arranged at an angle to the direction of travel so as to push the ground aside. On these bulldozers, the blade is immovably attached to the push frame and can be adjusted for height only integrally with the frame.

The main disadvantage of bulldozers used to build terraces on steep slopes is low efficiency, for in shuttling back and forth many times during a terracing job, each earth-moving run is followed by an idle (reversing) run. Experience shows that during terracing operations on slopes as steep as 30 to 35 the idling runs total to between 1000 and 1500 running meters per lOO running meters of the finished terrace. Under such conditions, the intensity of manipulating with controls sharply increases and the handling of a bulldozer be comes an intricate and labor-consuming job entailing the danger of overturning at the slightest fault of the operator. The point is that a force pressing the blade towards the uphill side of the terrace is constantly acting on the bulldozer in operation, tending to turn the machine and creating a danger of sliding off the top surface of the terrace. In order to counteract this tendency, the operator constantly turns the bulldozer towards the downhill side and this in turn, brings about a rapid wear of the self-propelled chassis transmission. By reason of aforesaid technical drawbacks of the bulldozer and the difficulty in handling it, the top surface of the terrace becomes uneven and such terraces are likely to be damaged by a heavy downpour.

Furthermore, in building a terrace with the aid of a bulldozer the entire fertile topsoil covering the side of the hill excavated slides down the slope, thus exposing lean subsoil. Vegetation planted on such terraces strikes roots and grows with difficulty. Another disadvantage of a bulldozer terracing a steep slope is the difficulty experienced in making the first cut since the blade cannot be turned transversely with respect to the bulldozer frame. To make the first cut a safe venture, it is common practice to start a terracing job from a location where the slope is not steeper than 12 degrees.

Recent years have seen bulldozers on which the blade is connected to the frame with a provision for turning transversely under the power of hydraulic cylinders pivotally attached to both the bulldozer frame and the blade. The blade itself is also pivotally attached to the bulldozer frame as this will be found on bulldozers made by Komatsu, a Japanese firm.

I All of the aforesaid disadvantages are inherent in these bulldozers with only one exception which is ease of making the first cut.

There is known in the art equipment suitable for terracing which are excavating and grading machines relying for operation on a transversely arranged powerdriven cutting head in the form of a chain or hoe.

Excavating and grading machines with a rotary cutting head (a chain or a hoe) are frequently referred to 0 as machines with an active cutting head as distinct from the same machines whose cutting blade remains immovable or passive in operation.

A chain-type cutting head comprises an endless chain provided with cutting picks and arranged transversely with respect to the longitudinal axis of the machine. When set into motion, the chain both cuts the ground across the width of the terrace and moves it aside. In known machines, the chain-type cutting head is linked up with the frame of the machine by means of an intermediate frame comprising a system of tie rods and a bracket which provide for a three-point suspension of the cutting head. The drive is obtained from the engine of a self-propelled chassis through the intermediary of an universal joint shaft topping the frames of both the machine and cutting head as in the machine disclosed in USSR Inventors Certificate No. 180002, cl. 45a,

In machines with a rotary hoe, the cutting arrangement is mounted on an intermediate frame linked up with the frame of a self-propelled chassis by a horizontal pivot arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the machine so as to be capable of moving up and down, thus setting the cutting head either into the transport or working position. The drive forthe hoe is obtained from the engine on the machine and transmitted by means of gears and universal joint shafts supported by brackets on top of the frames. This plan is followed on an excavating and grading machine disclosed in USSR Inventors Certificate No. 158744, cl. 45, 9/00.

The suspension of the cutting head in these machines fails to enable the head to turn transversely with respect to the frame of the machine, as is the case with all other machines referred to above.

The main advantage of excavating and grading machines with an active cutting head over machines with a passive head is their greater efficiences due to the fact that a terrace can be built in a single pass; the quality of work is also better, making terraces with strictly horizontal and even surfaces which is also inherent in the operating principle of a rotary cutting head.

At the same time, the necessity to transmit rotary motion from the engine on the frame of a self-propelled chassis to the cutting head creates certain difficulties in designing the suspension of the cutting head. For this reason, the known systems of suspension met with on excavating and grading machines fail to provide for turning the power-driven cutting head transversely with respect to the machine as a whole without interfering with the operation of the gearing. Thus, these machines are also not free from the disadvantages which are peculiar to bulldozers and which stem from the inability to perform said transverse movements of the cutting head in operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The principle objects of the present invention are to provide an excavating and grading machine which assures grading of horizontal even surfaces or those of a given gradient at a high rate of work, i.e., in a single pass, on slopes of any steepness accessible for the machine and, further, to provide such a suspension of the power-driven (rotary) cutting head which assures a possibility of turning the cutting head transversely with respect to the frame of the machine as a whole without interfering with the operation of the gearing driving the cutting head. This arrangement facilitates the first cut made by the cutting head on a slope of considerable steepness.

Another object of the present invention is to simplify the handling of the machine.

Further objects of the present invention are to suppress the tuming moment coming into play when the machine cuts into the ground, eliminating thereby for the machine the danger of sliding off the surface of the terrace, and to reduce the wear on the transmission of the cutting head and the running gear of machine.

Still a further object of the present invention is to retain on the graded surface the fertile topsoil of the ground excavated.

These and other objects are accomplished by the fact that in an excavating and grading machine with a rotary cutting head intended for hillside operation, according to the invention, the frame of cutting head comprises a juxtaposition of three member frames of which the first member frame is rigidly connected to the frame of the chassis, the second member frame connecting to the first member frame by an axle pivot which is coaxial with the longitudinal axis of chassis and the second member frame also connecting to a drive serving to turn it about the pivot, and the third member frame with the rotary cutting head directly mounted thereon connecting to the preceeding member frame by an axle pivot whose axis is at right angles to the longitudinal axis of chassis, the third member frame also connecting to a drive serving to turn it about the pivot. The axles of respective pivots are tubular to pass a transmission of the rotary cutting head through their bores.

An advantage of such construction is the possibility of arranging the transmission of the rotary cutting head along two mutually perpendicular axes about which there is the necessary to turn the frame integrally with the cutting head rotating about its own axis at the same time. Such layout of the transmission eliminates interference with the operation of the gearing driving the rotary cutting head when the head is turned in two planes located at right angles to each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention will be best understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates the excavating and grading machine in a plan view according to the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a side elevation view of the same machine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The machine includes a self-propelled chassis 1 (FIGS. 1 and 2) whose frame 2 (FIG. 1) is connected to a frame carrying a rotary cutting head 3 (FIGS. 1 and 2) which in this particular case is a rotary hoe-andauger combination not described in detail for it is a known engineering solution and is not covered by the subject of the invention. The cutting head 3 may also be either a rotor or a chain in which case their use calls 5 for no substantial changes in the suspension of the machine.

The frame of cutting head, in turn, consists of three member frames; a member frame 4 (FIG. 1) rigidly connected to the frame 2 of the self-propelled chassis l; a member frame 5 (FIGS. 1 and 2) connected to the member frame 4 by means of an axle pivot 6 (FIG. 1) arranged coaxially with a longitudinal axis 7 (FIGS. 1 and 2) of the self-propelled chassis 1; a member frame 8 with the cutting head 3 directly attached thereto is connected to the member frame 5 by practically two axle pivots 9 (FIG. 1) whose axles are arranged at right angles to the longitudinal axis 7 of the self-propelled chassis l. The axles 10 and 11 of the pivots 6 and 9, respectively, are tubular enabling a power transmission 12 of the rotary cutting head 3 to pass therethrough. The transmission 12 disposed in the bores of the axles 10 and 11 comprises a differential reducer 13 linked up with side gearing 14 by means of axle shafts 15, one of which is linked up with a gearing 14 through the intermediary of a permanently engaged friction-type clutch 16 serving to avoid damage of the transmission 12 should the cutting head 3 encounter an insuperable obstacle. The transmission 12 is connected to a shaft 17 of an engine on the self-propelled chassis 1 through the agency of a coupling 18.

For lifting and lowering the cutting head 3 by turning the member frame 8 on the pivots 9 with respect to the member frame 5 and also for holding the cutting head in a requisite position, there is a drive comprising hydraulic cylinders 19 pivotally attached to the member frame 8 with one of their ends and to the member frame 5 with the other.

Turning both member frames 5 and 8 simultaneously on the pivot 6 with respect to the member frame 4 is accomplished with the aid of a hydraulic cylinder 20 pivotally attached to the member frame 4 with one of its ends and to the member frame 5 with the other. Suspension of the layout described hereinbefore makes the cutting head 3 capable of turning in two mutually perpendicular planes without interfering with the operation of the drive gearing.

For operation, the machine is positioned across the slope and the transmission 12 powering the cutting head 3 is set running. The cutting head 3 is placed either horizontally or inclined through a specified angle, this depends on the cross-sectional shape of terrace, by turning the member frames 5 and 8 on the pivot 6 with the aid of the hydraulic cylinder 20. After that the cutting head is lowered into working position by turning the member frame 8 on the pivots 9 with the aid of the hydraulic cylinders 19. When the self-propelled chassis 1 begins to move ahead, the cutting head 3 loosens and moves the ground towards the downhill side, completing a terracing operation in a single pass. Maintaining longitudinal levelness of the terrace and a specified transverse gradient of its surface with a high degree of accuracy is a practical possibility when such machine is used. The machine can easily cut into the ground on any slope negotiable transversely without the danger of overturning. On completing a terracing operation, the cutting head 3 is lifted into a transport position by turning the member frame 8 upwards on the pivots 9 with respect to the member frame 5, using the hydraulic cylinders 19.

What is claimed is:

1. An excavating and grading machine with rotary cutting head intended for hillside operation comprising a self-propelled chassis of said machine; a chassis frame; a frame of a rotary cutting head defined by three member frames; a first member frame of said three member frames being rigidly connected to the chassis frame; a second member frame of said three member frames being connected to said first of said three member frames by an axle pivot which is provided with a tubular axle and is arranged coaxially with the longitudinal axis of said chassis frame; a first drive being connected to said second member frame of the rotary cutting head and serving to turn said second member frame about the pivot by means of which this member frame is connected to said first member frame; a third member frame of the rotary cutting head with said cutting head directly mounted thereon which said third member frame connects to said second member frame by another axle pivot whose tubular axle is arranged at right angles to said longitudinal axis of said chassis frame; a second drive being connected to said third member frame of the rotary cutting head and serving to turn said third member frame of the rotary cutting head about said pivot by means of which said third member frame connects to said second of said three member frames of the rotary cutting head; a third drive arranged on the frame of said self-propelled chassis; and a transmission for transmitting the rotary motion from said third drive to said rotary cutting head, said transmission being disposed in the bores of tubular axles of said pivots by means of which said second member frame of the rotary cutting head is connected to said first member frame and said third member frame is connected to said second member frame of the rotary cutting head. 

1. An excavating and grading machine with rotary cutting head intended for hillside operation comprising a self-propelled chassis of said machine; a chassis frame; a frame of a rotary cutting head defined by three member frames; a first member frame of said three member frames being rigidly connected to the chassis frame; a second member frame of said three member frames being connected to said first of said three member frames by an axle pivot which is provided with a tubular axle and is arranged coaxially with the longitudinal axis of said chassis frame; a first drive being connected to said second member frame of tHe rotary cutting head and serving to turn said second member frame about the pivot by means of which this member frame is connected to said first member frame; a third member frame of the rotary cutting head with said cutting head directly mounted thereon which said third member frame connects to said second member frame by another axle pivot whose tubular axle is arranged at right angles to said longitudinal axis of said chassis frame; a second drive being connected to said third member frame of the rotary cutting head and serving to turn said third member frame of the rotary cutting head about said pivot by means of which said third member frame connects to said second of said three member frames of the rotary cutting head; a third drive arranged on the frame of said self-propelled chassis; and a transmission for transmitting the rotary motion from said third drive to said rotary cutting head, said transmission being disposed in the bores of tubular axles of said pivots by means of which said second member frame of the rotary cutting head is connected to said first member frame and said third member frame is connected to said second member frame of the rotary cutting head. 